Stephen A. Smith says it's a 'shame' Ime Udoka can't have Brooklyn Nets job: "I am rooting for Jacque Vaughn, but the Nets should've hired Ime Udoka"
The Brooklyn Nets appointed Jacque Vaughn, who until yesterday served as the interim, as their head coach for the remainder of the 2022-23 season.
The coaching change took many by surprise since Ime Udoka was reported to be the overwhelming favorite to take the job after the Celtics suspended him prior to this season.
Stephen A. Smith, on ESPN's "First Take," sounded off his opinion on the hiring, and deemed it not the right decision, but not the wrong one either:
"I'm going to qualify it by saying that it's not the wrong move. I'm very very happy for Jacque Vaughn.
"He deserves the opportunity, he's a good brother, he's smart, he knows basketball, more importantly, he's put in the time, the work, the energy, not just as a player but as a coach.
"I'm still of the mindset, I wouldn't call this the right move. ... Ime Udoka, to me, should've been the head coach of the Brooklyn Nets. ... We know how great of a coach Ime Udoka is because he has already proven that.
"If I was the ownership of the Brooklyn Nets, I would've hired him anyway, because you don't see coaches like him come around everyday."
Following the Nets' decision to appoint Jacque Vaughn as the team's head coach, Kevin Durant and company handed Vaughn his first win as head coach in a New York showdown as the Nets beat the Knicks, 112-85.
The Brooklyn Nets gain some momentum following Irving's suspension
Had it not been for Kevin Durant's missed free-throw(s) in the game against the Dallas Mavericks, the Brooklyn Nets would have, in all likelihood, won four straight games after losing six of their first eight.
Automatic.
A new personal record for @KDTrey5 at the charity stripe! https://t.co/K9LZCN0hvo
The misses probably hurt a lot more than they should have, because Durant was 100% from the charity stripe for six straight games before dropping two against the Mavericks.
It's unlucky, but averages catch-up, and Durant certainly isn't going to average 100% on free throws for the season.
However, Jacque Vaughn, after being officially named the head coach of the Nets, led the team to a 27-point win—their second highest margin of victory this season—over the New York Knicks.
Of note is the fact that the 42-point win over the Wizards, the four-point win over the Hornets, and the 27-point win over the Knicks all came in the absence of Irving.
As it stands, the Brooklyn Nets are 2-6 with Irving and 3-1 without him. Some of this obviously has to do with Steve Nash, but there is little reason to believe that Irving's position on coaching will change after Vaughn's entry.
While Irving is in the news for everything but basketball, his teammate and fellow superstar Kevin Durant is causing an uproar in the NBA, averaging 30.8 points per game, his highest since his '13-'14 MVP season.
However, he is a little more efficient from the field, and with his 3-point percentage currently at 32.2, his already spectacular FG% of 51.9 should go up throughout the season.
Kevin Durant now has 11 games of 25+ points to start the season, both a personal and team record.